It's Valentine's Day Every Day Of The Year Collector's Cards Reveal The Beauty Of An Earlier Time

February 14, 1985|by MELANIE DEVAULT, The Morning Call.

Like others across the Lehigh Valley, Eleanor "Del" Koehler may open a few Valentines today.

But the Coopersburg-area woman really delights in Valentines from another day, another time. For her, such Valentines are present every day of the year - favorite antique Valentines which grace many a table and wall, carefully repaired to show their full beauty, and the beauty of an earlier day.

"Valentines mean a great deal to me because of their beauty, the workmanship of the time and, whether we collect Valentines or antiques or postcards of an earlier day, we're the ones who treasure and keep these things, those days alive," she says thoughtfully.

"You know, nothing breaks my heart more than to hear someone say 'my aunt had some beautiful Valentines. She threw them out.' That's what happens to these things. It's a shame," she opines.

Del has a collection of a couple hundred Valentines from the 1840s to the 1920s - so many fine, lacy treasures that husband Karl is working on a special room addition to their home to display them.

A long-time, avid collector of postcards, Del says she had been given a few antique Valentines many years ago. Then, while she and her husband were traveling through New England in the early 1960s, she "just got lucky.

"On the way to Provincetown we saw a little shop and lo and behold I found a marvelous bunch of Valentines thrown in a case. I bought the whole lot. (Husband Karl remembers taking his bicycle out and riding around for two hours while she looked and pondered how many she would take).

"Some were in good shape, some in bad shape, but I could see they could be salvaged, something I love to do," she says, quickly adding that she repairs the cards, but doesn't change them, as that would change their authenticity.

Del has been collecting antique Valentines in earnest ever since, though she says they are quite hard to find today. She always is hopeful someone will come up with more such treasures in a grandmother's attic and let her know.

"Very often people ask me what I find so interesting about collecting Valentines," she says. For Del, there's a lot more to it than just "collecting."

She researches - "That's the fascinating part. I sometimes get so fascinated I forget to eat!"

Many times there is no date on a card, so she has to research books and cards, check to find something similar to get an approximate date.

She says most people simply can't fathom the work involved in the antique Valentines. The early ones are all hand-painted. There are incredible die-cuts with such detail, Del admits she can't even figure out how they were done.

Her favorite Valentine is an 1840 card with a ballerina in a satin dress with netting and silk flowers, all hand-painted, and of course from Germany.

In pre-World War I days, Del explains, all of the ornate Valentines are marked "made in Germany"; all of the printing and die-cutting was done there. Component parts were often sent and they were assembled here. Many of the greetings are written in German script.

There was a woman in the late 1800s who started making her own Valentines in Massachusetts, importing all the components, she adds.

Many of the older Valentines sent by Americans, Del explains, were postcards, some done by artists who did other things as well. Around the turn of the century, Ellen Clapsaddle did many Valentine and Halloween cards. She is known for her children figures.

Rose O'Neill was known for her cuppies. Another famous postcard artist, G.G. Wiederseim, was known for children drawings.

Around the turn of the century, art nouveau - embossed cards - was popular, too, she notes.

"When World War happened, they bombed Germany and the machinery that made these things. After World War I, we got some of the component parts for Valentines from England. We were conscious of the names Lister and Tuck in England. To this day, Tuck still produces cards and books.

"We looked to them for components, and then we began to print, diecut in this country."

Holding an early made-in-America Valentine, Del explains, "You can see the difference. The printing and die-cutting is not as elaborate or as good as pre-World War I Valentines. Much tissue paper was used for the fan-effect and they were not hand-painted."

As for Valentine's Day itself, Del admits it's quite a controversial day. "Some say it goes back to medieval times. There is no set time. There was a Saint Valentine, of course."

One thing is clear to Del, though. Since the mid-1800s, with her earliest Valentines, the message has been love on this day, whether in German or English. And that makes the day, and those special Valentines, all the more wonderful.